comprehensive characters of kind and general structure of
the teeth,
or upon the more restricted ones, of form and such modifications in the
disposition and proportions of the component textures of the tooth, as
give rise to the characteristic appearances of the triturating surface
of the crown.

With respect to existing Mammalia, most naturalists of the
present
day seem to be unanimous as to the convenience at least of founding a
generic or sub-generic distinction on well marked modifications in the
form and structure of the teeth, although they may correspond in number
and kind, in proof of which it needs only to peruse the pages of a Systema
Mammalium which relate to the distribution of the Rodent Order.
According to this mode of viewing the logical abstractions under which
species are grouped together, the extinct Edentate Mammal discovered by
Jefferson must be referred to a genus distinct from Megatherium,
and
for which the term Megalonyx should be retained. This will
be
sufficiently evident by comparing the descriptions given by Cuvier of
one of the teeth of the Megalonyx Jeffersonii, and by Dr.
Harlan of a tooth of his Megalonyx laqueatus, with those of
the Megatherium which have been published by Mr. Clift. The
fragment of the molar tooth of the Megalonyx Jeffersonii,
described
and figured in the Ossemens Fossiles, seems to have been
implanted in the jaw, like the teeth of the Megatherium, by
a
simple hollow base similar in form and size to the protruded crown :
its structure Cuvier describes as consisting of a central cylinder of
bone enveloped in a sheath of enamel.* The transverse section of this
tooth presents an irregular elliptical form, the external contour being
gently and uniformly convex, the internal one, undulating; convex in
the middle, and slightly concave on each side, arising from the tooth
being traversed longitudinally on its inner side by two wide and
shallow depressions.

The imperfect tooth of the species called by Dr. Harlan Megalonyx
laqueatus, and of which a cast was presented by that able and
industrious naturalist to the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons,
resembles in general form, and especially in the characteristic double
longitudinal groove on the inner side, the tooth of the Megalonyx
Jeffersonii. It is thus described by Dr. Harlan :

" The fractured molar tooth appears to have belonged to
the
inferior
maxilla on the right side; the crown is destroyed; a part of the
cavity of the root remains. The body is compressed transversely, and
presents a double curvature, which renders its anterior and exterior
aspects slightly convex; the posterior and interior gently concave;
these surfaces are all uniform, with the exception of the interior or
mesial aspect, which presents a longitudinal rib or ridge, one-half the
thickness of the long diameter of the tooth; with a broad, not
profound
longitudinal

* It is most probable that the substance
which is
here termed "
enamel," is similar to that which forms the dense prominent ridges in
the tooth of the Megatherium, and which I have shown to be composed of
minute parallel calcigerous tubes, similar to the ivory or bone of the
human tooth.

groove or channel along each of its borders. It is from
this
resemblance to a portion of a fluted column, that the animal takes its
specific appellation (Megx. laqueatus).

" The crown would resemble an irregular ellipsis widest at
the anterior portion. The tooth consists of a central pillar of bone
surrounded with enamel, the former of a dead white, the latter of a
ferruginous brown colour: the transverse diameter is more than
two-thirds less than its length, whilst that of Megx.
Jeffersonii
is
only one-third less—the antero-posterior diameter is one-half its
length in the former, and two-thirds less in the latter. The
proportions of this tooth are consequently totally at variance with
that of its kindred species." [Vide Pl. XII. fig. 7, 8, 9.]*

Dr. Harlan describes also two claws of the fore-foot, a
radius,
humerus, scapula, one rib, an os calcis, a metacarpal bone, certain
vertebræ, a femur, and tibia, of the same Megalonyx; these
parts of the skeleton, together with the tooth, which so fortunately
served to establish the generic relationship of the species with the Megalonyx
of Jefferson and Cuvier, were discovered in Big-bone-cave,
Tenessee, United States.

Dr. Harlan does not enter into the question of the generic
characters of Megalonyx, but it would seem that he felt them
to rest not entirely on dental modifications, for he observes that "a
minute examination of the tooth and knee-joint renders it not
improbable, supposing the last named character to be peculiar to it,
that if the whole frame should hereafter be discovered, it may even
claim a generic distinction, in which case, either Aulaxodon, or
PLEURODON, would not be an inappropriate name."†

There can be no doubt, as it appears to me, with respect
to a fossil
jaw presenting teeth in the same number, and of the same general
structure, as in the Megatherium, and with individual
modifications of form, as well marked as those which distinguish Megatherium
from Megalonyx, that the Palæontologist has no other
choice than to refer it, either as Fischer has done with Megalonyx,
to a distinct species of the genus Megatherium, or to
regard it as the type of a subgenus distinct from both. With reference,
however, to the Pleurodon of Dr. Harlan, after a detailed
comparison of the cast of the tooth on which that genus is mainly
founded, with the descriptions and figures of the tooth of the Megalonyx
Jeffersonii, in the "Ossemens Fossiles," they seem to differ in
so slight a degree as to warrant only a specific distinction, and this
difference even, viewing the various proportions of the teeth in the
same jaw of the Megatherium, is more satisfactorily
established by the characters pointed out by Dr. Harlan in the form and
proportions of the radius, than by those in the tooth itself.

The next notice of the Megalonyx which I have
consulted,
in
the hope of meeting with additional and more precise information as to
its real generic characters, is an account given by the learned
Professor Doellinger,* of some fossil bones, collected by the
accomplished travellers Spix and Martius in the cave of Lassa Grande,
near the Arrayal de Torracigos, in Brazil. In this collection, however,
it unfortunately happens that there are no teeth, but only a few bones
of the extremities, including some ungueal phalanges, which Professor
Doellinger concludes, from their shape, the presence of an osseous
sheath for the claw, and the form of their articulation, to belong,
without doubt, to an animal of the Megatherioid kind, about the size of
an Ox. He particularly states that they are not bones of an immature
individual; but that they agree sufficiently with Cuvier's
descriptions
and figures of the Megalonyx to be referred to that species
of
animal (zu dieses thierart;) and he adds, what is certainly an
interesting fact, that the fossils in question form the first of the
kind that had been discovered out of North America.

Subsequently to the discovery of these bones, and of those
of the Megalonyx
laqueatus above alluded to, the remains of another great Edentate
animal were found in North America, and were deposited in the Lyceum at
New York; among these is a portion of the lower jaw with the whole
dental series of one side. It is thus described by Dr. Harlan.

" The fragment I am now about to describe is a portion of
the dexter
lower jaw of the Megalonyx, containing four molar teeth; three of the
crowns of these teeth are perfect, that of the anterior one is
imperfect. These teeth differ considerably from each other in shape,
and increase in size from the front, the fourth and posterior tooth
being double the size of the first, and more compressed laterally; it
is also vertically concave on its external aspect, and vertically
convex on its internal aspect; the interior or mesial surface is
strongly fluted, and it has a deep longitudinal furrow on the dermal
aspect, in which respect it differs from the tooth of the M.
laqueatus previously described by me, of which the dermal aspect
is uniform, but to which, in all other respects, it has a close
resemblance. I suppose it therefore probable, that this last may have
belonged to the upper jaw. The three anterior molars differ in shape
and markings: they are vertically grooved, or fluted, on their
interior and posterior aspects, a transverse section presenting an
irregular cube. The length of the crown of the posterior molar is two
inches: the breadth about five-tenths of an inch: the length of the
tooth is three inches and six-tenths. The diameter of the penultimate
molar is eight-tenths by seven-tenths of an inch. The length of this
fragment of the jaw-bone is eight inches and four-tenths; the height
three inches and six-tenths: the length of the space occupied by the
alveolar sockets five inches and eight-

tenths. The crown of the tooth presents no protuberances,
but
resembles that of the Sloth; the roots are hollow."*

This fossil is referred by Dr. Harlan to his Megalonyx
laqueatus
; but, pending the absence of other proof of the identity of
species, in which, as may be seen by comparing fig. 2, with fig. 4, in
Pl. XVII., the teeth differ widely in form, it would be obviously
hazardous to adopt such an approximation on hypothetical grounds.† In
order, however, to obtain more satisfactory evidence of the nature and
amount of the difference between the Megalonyx laqueatus, and
the allied animal represented by the above-described fragment of lower
jaw, I wrote to my much respected friend M. LAURILLARD, requesting him
to send me a sketch of the teeth in the cast of that lower jaw, which
had been transmitted from New York to the Garden of Plants. With full
confidence in the characteristic precision and accuracy of the drawing
with which I have been obligingly favoured by M. Laurillard, I am
disposed to regard the amount of difference recognizable in every tooth
in the lower jaw in question (fig, 3 and 4,) as compared with the molar
tooth either of Megalonyx Jeffersonii (fig. 1,) or Megx.
laqueatus (fig. 2) to be such as to justify its generic
separation
from Megalonyx on the same grounds as Megalonyx is
distinguished from Megatherium, and for the subgenus of
Megatherioid Edentata, thus indicated, I would propose the name of
MYLODON.‡ The species of which the fossil remains are described by Dr.
Harlan may be dedicated to that indefatigable Naturalist who has
contributed to natural science so much valuable information respecting
the Zoology, both recent and fossil, of the North American continent.
The fossil about to be described represents a second and smaller
species of the same genus, and I propose to call it Mylodon
Darwinii, in honour of its discoverer, of whose researches in the
Southern division of the New World it forms one of many new and
interesting fruits.

* Harlan's Medical and Physical Researches,
1835, p.
334. M. de
Blainville speaks of a cast of a fragment of a lower jaw "portant
encore cinq dents en série;" as having been transmitted to
the Museum of the Garden of Plants from North America, together with
other bones, all of which he refers to the genus Megalonyx; M.
de Blainville does not describe these teeth, which is to be regretted,
inasmuch as, if he be correct in regard to their number, which can
hardly be doubted, and if he wrote with any clear and definite ideas of
the generic characters of Megalonyx, this would indicate
that Megalonyx
differed generically both from Megatherium and Mylodon
in a more important dental character than has hitherto been
suspected (See "Comptes Rendus, &c." 1839, No. V. p. 142.)

† Dr. Harlan also indicates differences in
certain
parts of the
skeleton of the New York fossils as compared with his Megx.
laqueatus; but thinks them probably due to a difference in the
age of the individuals: he says "There is also in Mr. Graves'
collection, in New York, a tibia, nearly perfect from the right leg;
the segment of a flattened sphere, on which the external condyle of the
femur moves, is rather more depressed, than in the specimen from
Big-bone-cave. Other marks and peculiarities are observable on this
bone, not found on that of the Megalonyx laqueatus of
Big-bone-cave, but they are probably due to a difference in the age of
the individuals." Loc. cit. p. 335.

This fossil was discovered in a bed of partly consolidated
gravel at
the base of the cliff called Punta Alta, at Bahia Blanca in Northern
Patagonia: it consists of the lower jaw with the series of teeth
entire on both sides: but the extremity of the symphysis, the coronoid
and condyloid processes, and the angular process of the left ramus, are
wanting. The teeth are composed, as in Bradypus, Megatherium
and
Megalonyx, of a central pillar of coarse ivory, immediately
invested with a thin layer of fine and dense ivory, and the whole
surrounded by a thick coating of cement.

In the fig. 5, Pl. XVII., the fine ivory is represented by
the white
striated concentric tract on the grinding surface of the teeth; it is
of a yellowish-white colour in the fossil, and stands out, as an obtuse
ridge, from that surface: both these conditions depend on the large
proportion of the mineral to the animal constituent in this substance
of the tooth. The external layer of the cement presents in the fossil
the same yellowish-brown tint as the bone itself, which it so closely
resembles, both in intimate structure and in chemical composition; the
internal layer next the dense ivory is jet black, indicating the great
proportion of animal matter originally present in this part. The
central pillar of coarse ivory, which, from its more yielding texture,
has been worn down into a hollow at the triturating surface of the
tooth, also presents, as a consequence of the less proportion of the
hardening phosphates, a darker brown colour than the external layer of
the cement, or the bone itself.

The teeth are implanted in very deep sockets; about
one-sixth only
of the last molar projects above the alveolus; the proportion of the
exposed part of the tooth increases as they are placed further
forwards. The implanted part of each tooth is simple; preserving the
same size and form as the projecting crown, and presenting a large
conical cavity at the base, indicative of the original persistent pulp,
and perpetual growth of these teeth.

The extent of the whole four alveoli is four inches, eight
lines;
the length of the jaw from the angle to the broken end of the symphysis
is seventeen inches and a half;* from the figures it will be seen that
only a small proportion of the anterior part of the jaw is lost, so
that we may regard the dentigerous part of the jaw as being limited to
about one-fourth of its entire length; the alveoli being nearly
equidistant from the two extremities. The first and second teeth,
counting backwards, are separated by an interspace of rather more than
three lines; that between the second and third is one line less; the
third and fourth are rather more than a line apart: from the oblique
position, however, of the three hinder teeth the intervals between them
appear in a side view, as in fig. 1, Pl. XIX., to be less than in
reality, and the third and fourth teeth seem to touch each other.

* If the lower jaw of Mylodon Harlani,
bears the same
proportion to its teeth as does that of Mylodon Darwinii, it
must be about two feet in length.

Each tooth has a form and size peculiar to itself, and
different
from the rest, but corresponds of course with its fellow on the
opposite side. The same may be observed, but in a less degree, in the
teeth of the Megatherium itself; hence, it is obviously hazardous to
found a generic distinction upon a single tooth, unless, as in the case
of the Glyptodon,* the modification of form happens to be
extremely well marked. The whole series of teeth, or their sockets, at
least of one of the jaws, should be known for the purpose of making a
satisfactory comparison with the previously established Edentate genera.

The first molar in the present jaw is the smallest and
simplest of
the series: its transverse section is ellipsoid, or subovate,
narrowest
in front, and somewhat more convex on the outer than on the inner side
: the long diameter of the ellipse is nine lines, the short or
transverse diameter six lines: the length of the tooth may be about
three inches, but I have not deemed it necessary to fracture the
alveolus in order to ascertain precisely this point.

The second tooth presents in transverse section a more
irregular and
wider oval figure than the first: the line of the outer side is
convex, but that of the inner side slightly concave, in consequence of
the tooth being traversed longitudinally by a broad and shallow channel
or impression; the longitudinal diameter of the transverse section is
one inch; the transverse diameter at the widest part nine lines. There
is a slight difference in the size of this tooth on the two sides of
the jaw, the right one, from which the above dimensions are taken,
being the largest.

The transverse section of the third tooth has a
trapezoidal or
rhomboidal form; the angles are rounded off; the posterior one is
most
produced; the anterior and posterior surfaces are flattened, the
latter
slightly concave in the middle; the external and internal sides are
concave in the middle, especially the inner side, where the concavity
approaches to the form of an entering notch. The longest diameter of
the transverse section of this tooth is thirteen lines, the shortest
seven lines and a half: in the tooth on the right side the external
surface is nearly flat; this slight difference is not indicated in the
figure (Pl. XVIII.)

The last molar, which is generally the most characteristic
in the
fossil Bruta, presents in an exaggerated degree the
peculiarities of the preceding tooth; the longitudinal channels on
both the outer and inner surfaces encroach so far upon the substance of
the tooth, that the central coarse ivory substance is as it were
squeezed out of the interspace, and the elevated ridge of the dense
ivory describes an hour-glass figure upon the triturating surface, the
connecting isthmus being but half the breadth of the rest of the tract
; the external cæmentum preserves nearly an equal thickness
throughout. Of the two lobes into which this tooth is

divided by the transverse constriction, the anterior is
the largest
; their proportions and oblique position are pretty accurately given in
the figure. The longitudinal diameter of the transverse section of this
tooth is one inch, seven lines, its greatest lateral or transverse
diameter is ten lines, its least diameter at the constricted part is
three lines, the length of the entire tooth is four inches. Judging
from the form of the jaw, the length of the other teeth decreases in a
regular ratio to the anterior one. The posterior tooth is slightly
curved, as shown in fig. 2, Pl. XIX., with the concavity directed
towards the outer side of the jaw.

The general form of the horizontal ramus of the jaw, is so
well
illustrated in the figures Pl. XVIII. and XIX., that the description
may
be brief.

The symphysis is completely anchylosed, about four inches
in length,
and extended forward to the extremity of the jaw at a very slight angle
with the inferior border of the ramus: it is of great breadth, smooth
and gently concave internally, and suggests the idea of its adaptation
for the support and gliding movements forwards and backwards of the
free extremity of a long and well-developed tongue.

The exterior surface of the symphysis is characterized by
the
presence of two oval mammilloid processes, situated on each side of the
middle-line, and about half way between the anterior and posterior
extremes of the symphysis. A front view of these processes, of the
natural size, is given in fig. 4, Pl. XIX.: a side view of the one on
the right side represented in the reduced figure.

Nearly four inches behind the anterior extremity of the
above
process is the large anterior opening of the dental canal: it is five
lines in diameter, situated about one-third of the depth of the ramus
of the jaw from the upper margin. The magnitude of this foramen, which
gives passage to the nerve and artery of the lower lip, indicates that
this part was of large size; and the two symphyseal processes, which
probably were subservient to the attachment of large retractor muscles,
denote the free and extensive motions of such a lip, as we have
presumed to have existed from the size of the foramina destined for the
transmission of its nervous and nutrient organs.

The angle of the jaw is produced backwards, and ends in an
obtuse
point, slightly bent upwards; a foramen, one-third less than the
anterior one, leads from near the commencement of the dental canal, to
the outer surface of the jaw, a little below and behind the last molar
tooth; this foramen presents the same size and relative position on
both sides of the jaw. I find no indication of a corresponding foramen,
or of symphyseal processes in the figures or descriptions of the lower
jaw of the Megatherium, nor in the lower jaw of the Sloths, Ant-eaters,
Armadillos, or Manises, which I have had the opportunity of examining
with a view to this comparison.

In the Megatherium the inferior contour of the lower jaw
is
peculiarly remarkable, as Cuvier has observed, for the convex
prominence or enlargement which is developed downwards from its middle
part. In the Mylodon the corresponding convexity exists in a very
slight degree, not exceeding that which may be observed at the
corresponding part of the lower jaw of the Ai, or Orycterope. A broad
and shallow furrow extends along the outer side of the jaw, close to
the alveolar margin, from the beginning of the coronoid process to the
anterior dental foramen.

The base of the coronoid process begins external and
posterior to
the last grinder: the whole of the ascending ramus of the jaw, beneath
the coronoid process is excavated on its inner side by a wide and deep
concavity, bounded below by a well-marked ridge, which extends
obliquely backwards from the posterior part of the alveolus of the last
grinder to the inferior margin of the ascending ramus, which is bent
inwards before it reaches the angle of the jaw.

The large foramen or entry to the dental canal is situated
in the
internal concavity of the ascending ramus of the jaw, two inches behind
the last molar, three inches from the lower margin of the ramus, and
nearly five inches from the elevated angle of the jaw: it measures
nine
lines in the vertical diameter, and its magnitude indicates the large
size of the vessels which are destined to supply the materials for the
constant renewal of the dental substance, — a substance which from its
texture must be supposed to have been subject to rapid abrasion. About
an inch behind the dental foramen a deep vascular groove, about two
lines in breadth, is continued downwards to the ridge which
circumscribes the internal concavity of this part of the jaw, and
perforates the ridge, which thus arches over the canal: this structure
is present in both rami of the jaw. The mylo-hyoid ridge is distinctly
marked about an inch and a half below the alveolar margin. Other
muscular ridges and irregular eminences are present on the outer side
of the base of the ascending ramus, and near the angle of the jaw; as
shown in fig. 1, Pl. XIX.

From the preceding descriptions it will be seen that the
lower jaw
of the Mylodon is very different from that of the Megatherium
; with that of the Megalonyx we have at present no
means
of comparing it. Among existing Edentata the Mylodon, in the form of
the posterior part and angle of the jaw, holds an intermediate place
between the Ai and the great Armadillo; in the form of the anchylosed
symphysis of the lower jaw it resembles most closely the Unau or
two-toed Sloth; but in the peculiar external configuration of the
symphysis resulting from the mammilloid processes above described, the
Mylodon presents a character which has not hitherto been observed in
any other species of Bruta, either recent or fossil.

In conclusion it may be stated, that the teeth and bones
here
described offer

all the conditions and appearances of those of a full
grown animal;
and that they present a marked difference of size as compared with
those of the Mylodon Harlani, as will be evident by the
following admeasurements.

ADMEASUREMENTS
OF THE
LOWER JAW OF MYLODON DARWINII.

Inches.

Lines.

Length
(as far as complete)
. . . . . . . . .

17

6

Extreme
width, from the outside
of one ramus to that of the other .
.

9

0

Depth
of each ramus . . . . . .
. . . .

4

9

Length
of alveolar series
. . . . . . . . . .

4

8

From
first molar to broken end
of symphysis . . . . . .

6

0

Breadth
of symphysis . . . . . .
. . . .

3

7

Longitudinal
extent of symphysis
. . . . . . . .

4

6

Circumference
of narrowest part
of each ramus . . . . . .

5

9

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DESCRIPTION OF A CONSIDERABLE PART OF THE
SKELETON OF
A LARGE
EDENTATE MAMMAL, ALLIED TO THE MEGATHERIUM AND ORYCTEROPUS, AND FOR
WHICH IS PROPOSED THE NAME OF

SCELIDOTHERIUM* LEPTOCEPHALUM.

OF the large Edentate quadrupeds that once existed in the
New World,
sufficient of the osseous remains of the gigantic Megatherium alone has
been transmitted to Europe to give a satisfactory idea of the general
form and proportions of the extinct animal.

Different bones of the Megalonyx, Mylodon, and Glyptodon
have been
described, but not sufficient of the remains of any individual of these
subgenera has, hitherto, reached Europe, or been so described as to
enable us to form a comparison between them and the Megatherium, or any
of the existing Edentata, in regard to the general construction and
proportions of the entire skeleton.

This state of our knowledge of the osteology of the
singular giants
of the Edentate Order renders the remains of the present animal
peculiarly interesting, since, although the extremities are too
imperfect to enable us to reconstruct the entire skeleton, a sufficient
proportion of it has been preserved in the natural position to give a
very satisfactory idea of its affinities to other Edentata, whose
osteology is more completely known.

* Σκελις, femur; θηριον, bellua; in
allusion to the
disproportionate size of the thigh-bone.

The fossil remains here described were discovered by Mr.
Darwin in
the same bed of partly consolidated gravel at Punta Alta, Northern
Patagonia, as that in which the lower jaws of the Toxodon and
Mylodon were imbedded. The parts of the skeleton about to be described
were
discovered in their natural relative position, as represented at Pl.
XX., indicating, Mr. Darwin observes, that the sublittoral formation in
which they had been originally deposited had been subject to little
disturbance.* They include the cranium, nearly entire, with the teeth
and part of the os hyoides; the seven cervical, eight of the dorsal,
and five of the sacral vertebræ, the two scapulæ, left humerus,
radius and ulna, two carpal bones, and an ungueal phalanx; both
femora, the proximal extremities of the left tibia and fibula, and the
left astragalus.

The principal parts of the cranium which are deficient are
the
anterior extremities of both the upper and lower jaws, the os frontis,
æthmoid
bone, and the whole upper part of the facial division of the
skull; but sufficient remains to show that the general form of the
skull resembled an elongated, slender, sub-compressed cone, commencing
behind by a flattened vertical base, slightly expanding to the
zygomatic region, and thence gradually contracting in all its
dimensions to the anterior extremity.

The Cape Ant-eater (Orycteropus), of all
Edentata, most
nearly resembles the present fossil in the form of its cranium, and
next in this comparison the great Armadillo (Dasypus gigas,
Cuv.)
may be cited: on the supposition, therefore, that the correspondence
with the above existing Edentals observable in the parts of the fossil
cranium which do exist, was carried out through those which are
defective, the length of the skull of the Scelidothere must have been
not less than two feet. If now the reader will turn to Pl. XX. he will
see that this cranium is singularly small and slender in proportion to
the rest of the skeleton, especially the bulky pelvis and femur, of
which bones the latter has a length of seventeen inches, and a breadth
of not less than nine inches; the astragalus, again, exceeds in bulk
that of the largest Hippopotamus or Rhinoceros; yet the condition of
the epiphyseal extremities of the long bones proves the present fossils
to have belonged to an immature animal. Hence, although the
Scelidothere, like most other Edentals, was of low stature, and, like
the Megatherium, presented a disproportionate development of the hinder
parts, it is probable, that, bulk for bulk, it equalled, when alive,
the largest existing pachyderms, not proboscidian. There is no evidence
that it possessed a tesselated osseous coat of mail.

I shall commence the description of the present skeleton
with the
cranium.

* This beach is covered at spring tides;
many parts
of the skeleton
were encrusted with recent Flustræ, and small marine shells
were lodged in the crevices between the bones.

The condyles of the occiput (See Pl. XXI. fig. 2,) are
wide apart,
sub-elliptic, very similar in position, form, and relative size to
those in Orycteropus. The foramen occipitale is transversely
oval, its plane slopes from above downwards and forwards at an angle of
40° with that of the occipital region of the skull. This region, as
before stated, is vertical in position (see fig. 1, Pl. XXI.), of a
sub-semicircular form, the breadth being nearly one-third more than the
height; it is bounded above and laterally by a pretty regular curve;
but the superior margin is not produced so far backwards as in Orycteropus.
The occipital plane is bisected by a mesial vertical ridge; there
is a less developed transverse curved inter-muscular crest which runs
parallel with and about half an inch below the marginal ridge: the
surface of the occipital plane on the interspaces of these ridges is
irregularly pitted with the impression of the insertion of powerful
muscles. The corresponding surface is smooth in the Orycterope and
Armadillos; in the great extinct Glossothere it resembles in character
that of the Scelidothere; but in the forward slope of the occipital
plane the Glossothere differs in a marked degree from the present
animal.

The upper surface of the cranium is smooth and regularly
convex. The
extent of the origin of the temporal muscles is defined by a
slightly-raised broad commencement of a ridge, which, in the older
animal, might become more developed. There is no trace of this ridge in
the Orycterope; but it exists in the Armadillos, in which the teeth
are of a denser texture, and better organized for mastication, and
consequently are associated with better developed masticatory muscles.
It will be subsequently shown that the Scelidothere resembles the
Armadillos in so far as it possesses a greater proportion of the dense
ivory to the external cæmentum in its teeth, than does the Megatherium
; while it differs widely from the Orycterope, in the structure of its
teeth. The teeth, however, are fewer in the Scelidothere than in any
Armadillo, and relatively smaller than in most of the species of that
family. Accordingly we find that the zygomatic arches are relatively
weaker; and in this particular the Scelidothere corresponds
with the Orycterope. The zygomatic process of the temporal commences
posteriorly about an inch and a half from the occipital plane, its
origin or base is extended forwards in a horizontal line fully four
inches, where it terminates as usual in a thin concave edge, as shown
on the right side in Pl. XXII. The free portion of the zygoma,
continued forwards from the outer part of this edge, is a slender
sub-compressed process, half an inch in the longest or vertical
diameter,
and less than three lines in the transverse; the extremity of this
process is broken off; the opposite extremity of the malar portion of
the zygoma is entire, and obtusely rounded. The bony arch may have been
completed by the extension of the temporal process to the malar one,
but the two parts undoubtedly were not connected together by so
extensive a surface as in

the Orycterope. On the other hand, if the zygomatic arch
be
naturally incomplete in the Scelidothere, the interspace between the
malar and temporal portions must be relatively much less than in the
Sloth or Ant-eater; for the broken end of the temporal part is
separated from the obtusely rounded apex of the malar process in the
present specimen by an interval of only one inch.

The articular surface (Pl. XXIII., fig. 2) beneath the
zygoma for
the lower jaw is flat and even, with the outer and inner margin
slightly bent down, but having no definable anterior or posterior
limits; its breadth is two inches. It differs from the corresponding
surface in the Orycterope in being separated by a relatively wider
interval from the tympanic bone, and in wanting consequently the
support which the bony meatus auditorius gives in the Orycterope to the
back part of the mandibular joint. The Armadillos differ still more
from the Scelidothere in this important part of the cranial
organization, inasmuch as the glenoid cavity is not only protected
behind by the descending os tympanicum, but also in front by a
corresponding vertical downward extension of the os malæ. The
Scelidothere in the general form and relative position of the surface
for the articulation of the lower jaw resembles the Glossothere more
closely than any other Edentate animal with which I have been able to
compare it.

The malar bone of the Megatherium presents, as is well
known, two
characters, in which it conspicuously differs from that of the
Orycterope and Armadillos, and approximates in an equally marked degree
to the Sloths; these characters consist in a process ascending as if
to complete the posterior circumference of the orbit, and another
process descending outside the lower jaw to give advantageous and
augmented surface of attachment to the masseteric muscle, in its
character of a protractor of the jaw. Now both these modifications of
the malar bone are present in the Scelidothere, and are the chief if
not the sole marks of the affinity to the Megatherium which the
structure of the cranium affords. They are, however, the more
interesting, perhaps, on that account, and because they are associated
with other and more numerous characters approximating the species in
question to the ordinary terrestrial as distinguished from the arboreal
Edentata. For if the Scelidothere, instead of the Megathere, had been
discovered half a century ago, and if its true nature and affinities
had been in like manner elucidated by the genius and science of a
Cuvier; and supposing on the other hand that the Megatherium instead
of the Scelidothere had been one of the novel and interesting fruits of
Mr. Darwin's recent exploration of the coast of South America, then the
affinities of the Megathere with the Sloths would undoubtedly have been
viewed from a truer point than at the time when,—the Scelidothere, and
analogous transitional forms, being unknown,—it was regarded as a
gigantic Sloth.

Having indicated the principal characters of the cranium
of the
Scelidothere,

which determine its affinities amongst the Edentata,
there
next remains to be considered the relative position, extent, and
connections, of the different bones composing the cranium.

The occipital bone constitutes the whole of the posterior,
the usual
proportion of the inferior, and a small part of the upper and lateral
portions of the cranial cavity: there is a small descending
ex-occipital process immediately exterior to the condyle: above this
part the occipital bone is articulated to the mastoid process of the
temporal, and the supra-occipital plate is joined by a complex dentated
lambdoidal suture to the two parietals, without the intervention of
interparietal or Wormian bones; the course and form of the lambdoidal
suture is shown in Pl.XXII; it has the same relative position as in
the
Orycterope; in the Armadillos, the suture runs along the angle between
the posterior and superior surfaces of the skull. The thickness of the
occipital bone, at this angle, in the Scelidothere, exceeds an inch,
and its texture consists of a close massive diploë, between the dense
outer and inner tables, (Pl. XXIII. fig. 1.)

The squamous portion of the temporal bone has a very
slight
elevation, not extending upon the side of the cranium more than half an
inch above the zygoma; it is thus relatively lower than in the Orycteropus
; but is similarly bounded above by an almost straight line, (Pl.
XXI., fig. 1.) The mastoid process is small, compressed, with a rounded
contour; immediately internal to it is a very deep depression,
corresponding to that for the digastric muscle. But the most
interesting features in this region of the temporal bone consist in the
free condition of the tympanic bones, and the presence of a
semicircular pit, immediately behind the tympanic bone for the
articulation of the styloid element of the hyoid or tongue-bone: in
these points we trace a most remarkable correspondence with the
Glossothere, and in the separate tympanic bone the same affinity to the
Orycteropus, as has been already noticed in the more bulky extinct
Edental.

This correspondence naturally leads to a speculation as to
the
probable generic relationship between the Glossothere and Scelidothere
: now it may first be remarked that the styloid articular depression is
relatively much larger and much deeper in the Glossothere than in the
Scelidothere; in the former its diameter equals, as we have seen, one
inch; in the Scelidothere it measures only a third of an inch, the
whole cranium being about two-fifths smaller; if we turn next to the
anterior condyloid foramina, which in the Scelidothere are double on
each side, we obtain from them evidence that the muscular nerve of the
tongue could only have been one-third the size of that of the
Glossothere. These proofs of the superior relative development of the
tongue in the Glossothere indicate a difference of habits, and a
modification, probably, of the structure of the locomotive extremities
; and when we associate these deviations from the Scelidothere, with

the known difference in the position of the occipital
plane, which
in the Glossothere corresponds with that in the Myrmecophaga and
Bradypus, we shall be justified in continuing to regard
them,
until evidence to the contrary be obtained, as belonging to distinct
genera.

The parietal bones present an oblong regular quadrate
figure, the
sagittal suture running parallel with the squamous, and the frontal
with the lambdoidal suture; there is scarcely any trace of
denticulations in the sagittal suture; the bones are of remarkable
thickness, varying, at this suture, from six to nine lines, and their
opposed surfaces are locked together by narrow ridges, which slightly
radiate from the lower to the upper part of the uniting surface: the
substance of the bone consists of an uniform and pretty dense diploë;
and there are no sinuses developed in it. We can hardly regard the
extraordinary air-cells which occupy the interspace of the two tables
of the skull in the parietal and occipital bones of the Glossothere
(Pl. XVI., fig. 3) as a difference depending merely on age.

The frontal and æthmoid bones are broken away in the
present
cranium. The sphenoid commences two inches in front of the foramen
occipitale;
the fractured state of the skull does not allow its anterior or lateral
limits to
be accurately defined; its body is occupied with large air-sinuses;
the only part,
indeed, of this bone which is exposed to observation is that which
forms part of the
floor of the cranium; and this we shall now proceed to describe, in
connexion
with the other peculiarities of the cranial cavity, (fig. 1. Pl.
XXIII.) The body
of the sphenoid is impressed on its cranial surface with a broad and
shallow sella
turcica (a), bounded by two grooves, (b b,) leading
forwards and
inwards
from the carotid foramina (c); the line of suture between the
sphenoid and occipital
bones runs along a slight transverse elevation (d), which
bounds the
sella posteriorly; this suture is partially obliterated: a slight
median protuberance (e)
bounds the sella turcica anteriorly; there are neither anterior nor
posterior
clinoid processes. External to the carotid channel there is a wide
groove (f) leading
to the foramen ovale (g); this foramen is about one-third
smaller than
in
the Glossothere, and therefore, as compared with the anterior condyloid
foramina,
indicates that the tongue was endowed with a greater proportion of
sensitive than
motive power in the Scelidothere: but in reasoning on the size of this
nerve, it
must be remembered that in both animals certain branches, both of the
second and third
divisions of the fifth pair of nerves, are to be associated with the
persistence
of large dental pulps, of which they regulate the secreting power.
Anterior to the
foramen ovale, and at the termination of the same large common groove,
lodging the
trunk of the fifth pair of nerves is the foramen rotundum (h)
; this leads to a
very long canal, the diameter of which is five lines, being somewhat
less than that
for the third division of the fifth pair. The anterior sphenoid is
broken away, so
that no observation can be made on the optic foramina.

The basilar process of the occipital bone is perforated at
its
middle by two small foramina (i) on the same transverse
line,
about half an inch apart.

In the Armadillo these foramina do not exist: in the
Orycterope
they are present, but open beneath an overhanging ridge, which is
continued from them to the upper part of the anterior condyloid foramen
on each side. The sella turcica of the Orycterope is deeper and
narrower than in the Scelidothere; and is separated from the basilar
occipital process by a transverse ridge, which sends forward two short
clinoid processes; two smaller anterior clinoid processes project
backwards from the angle of the anterior boundary of the sella turcica.
The foramina ovalia and rotunda open in the same continuous groove, as
in the Glossothere and Scelidothere, but they are relatively wider
apart; and the canal for the third division of the fifth pair is
shorter, and runs more directly outwards.

The petrous bone in the Scelidothere is relatively larger
than in
the Glossothere, but this probably arises from the precocious
development of the organ of hearing in the present immature specimen in
obedience to the general law. The trunk of the fifth pair of nerves
does not impress it with so deep and well defined a groove as in the
Glossothere; the elliptic internal auditory foramen (k) is
situated
about the middle of the posterior surface; behind this is the
aqueductus vestibuli; and immediately posterior to the petrous bone is
the foramen jugulare (l): the shape of the os petrosum agrees
more with
that of the Armadillo than with that of the Orycterope. An accidental
fracture of the right os petrosum demonstrates its usual dense and
brittle texture, and at the same time has exposed the cochlea with part
of its delicate and beautiful lamina spiralis. The conservation of
parts of the organs of vision in certain fossils, has given rise to
arguments which prove that the laws of light were the same at remote
epochs of the earth's history as now; and the structures I
have just
mentioned, in like manner, demonstrate that the laws of acoustics have
not changed, and that the extinct giants of a former race of quadrupeds
were endowed with the same exquisite mechanism for appreciating the
vibrations of sound as their existing congeners enjoy at the present
day.

The brain, being regulated in its development by laws
analogous to
those which govern the early perfection of the organ of hearing,
appears to have been relatively larger in the Scelidothere than in the
Glossothere: it was certainly relatively longer; the fractured
cranium gives us six inches of the antero-posterior diameter of the
brain, but the analogy of the Orycterope would lead to the inference
that it extended further into the part which is broken away. The
greatest transverse diameter of the cranial cavity is four inches eight
lines: these dimensions, however, are sufficient to show that the
brain was of very small relative size in the Scelidothere; and, both
in
this respect, and in the relative position of its principal masses, the
brain of the extinct Edental closely accords with the general character
of this organ in the existing species of the same Order. We perceive by
the obtuse

ridge continued obliquely upwards from above the upper
edge of the
petrous bone, that the cerebellum has been situated wholly behind the
cerebrum; we learn also from the same structure of the enduring parts
that these perishable masses were not divided, as in the Manis, by a
bony septum, but by a membraneous tentorium, as in the Glossothere and
Armadillos: in the Orycteropus, as has been before remarked, there is
a strong, sharp, bony ridge extending into each side of the tentorium.
The vertical diameter of the cerebellum and medulla oblongata equals
that of the cerebrum, and is two inches three lines: the transverse
diameter of the cerebellum was about three inches nine lines; its
antero-posterior extent about one inch and a half. The sculpturing of
the internal surface of the cranial cavity bespeaks the high
vascularity of the soft parts which it contained, and there are evident
indications that the upper and lateral surfaces of the brain had been
disposed in a few simple parallel longitudinal convolutions. The two
anterior condyloid foramina (m) have the same relative
position as the single corresponding foramen in the Glossothere,
Orycterope, and Armadillos, and the inner surface of the skull slopes
outwards from these foramina to the inner margin of the occipital
condyle.

Of the bones of the face there remain only portions of the
malar,
lachrymal, palatine, and maxillaries. The chief peculiarities of the
malar bone have been already noticed: the breadth of the base of the
descending masseteric processes is two inches two lines; its
termination is broken off: the length of the ascending
post-orbital process of the malar cannot be determined from the same
cause, but it is fortunate that sufficient of this part of the cranium
should have been preserved to give this evidence of the affinities of
the Scelidothere to the Megathere. The malar bone is continued
anteriorly, in a regular curve forwards and upwards, to the lachrymal
bone, and completes, with it, the anterior boundary of the orbit: the
size of the orbit is relatively smaller than in the Orycterope, and
still less than in the Ant-eaters: here, however, we have merely an
exemplification of the general law which regulates the relative size of
the eye to the body in the mammalia. The malar bone does not extend so
far forwards in front of the orbit as in either the Orycterope or
Armadillo; in the inclination, however, with which the sides of the
face converge forwards from the orbits, the Scelidothere holds an
intermediate place between the Armadillos and Orycterope.

The lachrymal bone does not extend so far upon the face in
the
Scelidothere as in the Orycterope; in which respect the Scelidothere
resembles more the Megathere. The foramen for the exit of the
infra-orbital nerve has the same situation near the orbit as in the
Megathere; its absolute distance from the anterior border of the orbit
is only half that in the Orycterope. The foramen is single in the
Scelidothere, as in the Orycterope; in the Megathere there are two or
three antorbital foramina. The vertical diameter of this foramen is
eight lines, the transverse diameter four lines. So much of the outer
surface of the superior maxillary bones as has been pre-

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of Her Majesty's Treasury have been pleased, by a pecuniary grant, to
enable the
Society to publish the result of its labours, without infringing upon
the funds raised solely for the purposes of discovery; and in a form
which, while it places the work within reach of most of the friends and
promoters of science, will not, it is hoped, be found inconsistent with
the interest and importance of the subject.

The materials for the work now offered, under such
patronage, to the
public, will consist of pictorial illustrations of between three and
four hundred subjects of the animal kingdom, all of which have been
collected to the south of 23° 28' South latitude; and will comprise,

First, and principally, unknown animals;

Secondly, animals known, but not yet figured; and

Lastly, such as have been imperfectly figured; but of
which the
Association is in possession of accurate drawings.

The Entomological portion of the work will be from the pen
of W. S.
Macleay, Esq., who has kindly undertaken that department. The rest of
the descriptions will be furnished by Dr. Smith, who will add a summary
of African Zoology, and an inquiry into the Geographical ranges of
species in that quarter of the Globe.

Conditions of Publication.

The Work will appear periodically; and it is estimated
that the
whole will be completed in about thirty-four parts, price, on an
average, Ten Shillings each. As it will be necessary that the plates be
published promiscuously, they will be arranged in five divisions, viz.
MAMMALIA, AVES, PISCES, REPTILIA, and INVERTEBRATÆ. The plates of each
of these divisions will be numbered independently, and the letter-press
descriptions left unpaged, so that on the work being completed, they
may be arranged either agreeably to the general classified order which
will accompany the last number, or according to the particular views of
the purchasers.

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The whole of the Plates will be engraved in
the
highest style of Art, from Drawings taken expressly for this Work,
and beautifully coloured after Nature.